HEADLEY 2

ProPublica report, however, says US counter-terrorism
officials do not see evidence that ISI chiefs made an
"institutional, top-down decision" to attack Mumbai.
Some feel that Headley's nuanced, sometimes ambiguous
narrative tends to exonerate the top spymasters. For example:
Headley told investigators that the ISI's Director General was
apparently caught off-guard by the carnage in Mumbai, the
report said.
"We should not assume that simply because the ISI policy
is to sustain Lashkar that the leadership is aware of every
detail in terms of the group's operations," said Stephen
Tankel, author of the forthcoming book "Storming the World
Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba."
"The ISI policy is not to allow Lashkar to cross certain
red lines, but sometimes the interpretation by ISI handlers of
what constitutes an acceptable operation is different than
that of the leadership," he told ProPublica.
"The spy agency has "control over the most important
operatives" of Lashkar and every chief "is handled by some ISI
official," he said.
An ISI brigadier general served as handler for Lakhvi,
who also "is close to the (Director General) of ISI," he said.
According to Headley, the ISI funds Lashkar and shields
its founder Hafiz Saeed from interference. "He is very close
to ISI," Headley said of Saeed.
"He (Saeed) is well protected," the news report said.
The investigators believe Headely's main handler, a man
identified only as Major Iqbal, was a serving member of ISI
and one of several Pakistani intelligence officers who had
contact with Headley, according to US officials.
Propublica said most experts see ISI's long-standing
alliance with militant groups as a mix of geo-political
strategy -- extremists are a useful weapon against India --
and anti-Western ideology.
Headley's story of his high-level dealings with spies and
militants alike opens a door into a secretive underworld,
according to officials and experts.
"I don't know of any other cases in which ISI has used
and worked with Americans," Charles Faddis, a former CIA
counter-terror chief who worked in South Asia, was quoted as
saying.
"Having a guy like this would be great for LeT and ISI.
The Indians are working off a profile of what they think enemy
operatives look like. This guy does not fit that profile. He
can walk through the screen without being seen," he said.
The Indian counter-terrorism official was quoted as
saying that "most of the Headley statement is consistent with
what we know about the ISI and its operations."
"And it's consistent with what he told the FBI and what
they told us. A lot has been cross-referenced to travel,
communications, other evidence." (More) PTI